No, not the Yankee security agency; the CIA Security Triad is a model organizations can use to guide policies for their cyber and information security. CIA stands for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. It’s also useful during the acquisition of new technology assets and data to guide policymaking.
Confidentiality – Keeping sensitive, confidential, or private information safe from unauthorized access. It’s common to categorize sensitive data by the potential for damage if the data is released or stolen in case of a security breach. The question of who needs what kind of access to the information should be a consideration. Organizations can set access control lists (ACLs), encryption, and permissions for systems, files, and folders.
Integrity – Preventing data from deletion, tampering, or modification by an authorized or unauthorized party. This includes mistaken but authorized changes. Data at rest (stored), in transit, or in use should be protected for consistency, accuracy, and trustworthiness.
Availability – Accessing or refusing access to files, folders, and systems. The information the security measures protect and ensure should be available despite hardware failures, system upgrades, or power outages. The security measures should be consistent and provide ready accessibility by authorized parties.
The difference between tech support and cybersecurity experts lies with CIA. Tech support can help with your availability (connection), but integrity and confidentiality are usually the domains of cyber.
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